Paula Deen "Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies"

The first thing anyone thinks about when they hear "Paul Deen" is butter, and lots of it. This recipe doesn't disappoint (although you could argue that all cookies have about as much butter...).  At first glance I was pretty un-impressed since the recipe calls for a boxed cake mix, but I'm very glad I let go of that particular dislike because these turned out fantastic.

This was a very quick recipe- start to finish I had two dozen cookies in about half an hour.  The cookies were delicious warm and gooey out of the oven, but kept well for a few days too.  The one thing I didn't like- and this is just cosmetic- was that the powdered sugar sort of soaked in and crystallized after awhile.  I would make
these again in a heart beat, especially if I wanted to
bring a treat somewhere and didn't have much time.

I actually made this recipe twice in the course of a week.  I didn't really feel they were missing anything the first time I made them, but at the suggestion of Chris I added chocolate chips to the mix the second time around.  It was one of those moments where I realized I truly didn't know what I was missing until I had it.  They were absolutely the best chocolate cookie I'd ever eaten.  And I've eaten a lot of cookies...